ABSTRACT
The argument of this chapter is that increases in insecurity in society have been accompanied by decreases in the availability of social security. While this is not surprising, it involves a reversal of a significant development through the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. During that period, one of the objectives of social security was to try to reduce the impact of other forms of insecurity, particularly those deriving from the working of markets. It is important to explore the way in which contemporary reductions in security in society and in social security are linked, and to examine the way in which a negative dynamic is being reinforced.
